unit two: global shipping and communications

Question 1

what is containerisation?

Answer 1

system using steel containers with standardised dimensions, meaning they can be loaded, unloaded, stacked and transported efficiently

Question 2

who had the initial idea for containerisation?

Answer 2

malcolm mcclean

Question 3

what was the name of the pre-containerisation form of loading and unloading ships called and how long did it typically take?

Answer 3

break-bulk shipping - approximately 2 weeks to load and unload

Question 4

modern container ships with over 1000 containers can be loaded and unloaded in what period of time?

Answer 4

12 hours (both load and unload)

Question 5

what was the impact of containerisation between 1965 and 1970?

Answer 5

• decreased insurance costs
• decreased amount of loading points in europe
• average ship size has increased
• port labour productivity increased hugely

Question 6

what is a chokepoint?

Answer 6

a point of congestion along shipping routes where narrow channels of shipping having high traffic because of their strategic location

Question 7

what are 5 examples of largest importing countries?

Answer 7

1) united states
2) china
3) germany
4) japan
5) france

Question 8

what are 5 examples of largest exporting countries?

Answer 8

1) china
2) united states
3) germany
4) uk
5) france

Question 9

what are 5 examples of chokepoints?

Answer 9

1) panama canal
2) suez canal
3) english channel
4) straits of gibraltar
5) gulf of aden

Question 10

what is the name of the largest port in europe?

Answer 10

the port of rotterdam

Question 11

what is the name of the largest port in north america?

Answer 11

the port of los angeles

Question 12

what is the name of the largest port in asia?

Answer 12

port of shanghai

Question 13

how many containers pass through panama canal each week?

Answer 13

1 million containers per week

Question 14

what is the importance of panama canal?

Answer 14

saves a large travel distance by providing a short-route for ships rather than going around south america

Question 15

what are some factors that may have led to a reduction in global shipping?

Answer 15

• major container companies have been consolidated through mergers
• attempting to make them greener
• making them more efficient and less competitors reduces the cost of companies (ocean alliance and 2m alliance)
• periods of economic downturn

Question 16

what is the role of unclos?

Answer 16

responsible for helping regulate shipping and key issues requiring regulation, in recent decades relates to oil pollution from oil tankers

Question 17

when and where was the torrey canyon oil spill?

Answer 17

1967 affecting the coasts of the uk and france